


Take The Back Way Home

by AubreyPosenEsquire



Series: Time and Space [1]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:34:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26552182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AubreyPosenEsquire/pseuds/AubreyPosenEsquire
Summary: Aubrey Posen takes Stacie Conrad home to meet her family. How hard could that be, right?It wasn't like her father was an Army general and her grandfather was a Marine colonel or anything.Updated: 11-14-2020
Relationships: Stacie Conrad/Aubrey Posen
Series: Time and Space [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1930921
Comments: 8
Kudos: 59





	Take The Back Way Home

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the second part of the Time and Space series. 
> 
> This takes place about two months before Stacie's college graduation and about two weeks before the Bella show up for Aubrey to whip them into shape.
> 
> If you watch Wynonna Earp, Remy sounds like Doc Holiday. At least that was what I was going for.
> 
> Also thank you to my wonderful beta, G for her work on this.
> 
> EDIT:  
> So…
> 
> I thought it was a good idea to split this timeline because I did a few things in the OG Time and Space universe I didn’t like after the fact. 
> 
> That was wrong. 
> 
> I have gone back and changed a few things, most notably 
> 
> \- Chloe’s family dynamic  
> \- Their kids names  
> \- Stacie’s family’s wealth
> 
> From here on out things should be consistent. 
> 
> Updated: 11-14-2020

~ April 12, 2015 ~ Aubrey 25, Stacie 21

Spring in Virginia always made Aubrey Posen think of being a little kid. 

Turning seven years old with a front tooth missing, sitting on the back of one of her grandfather’s horses and trotting alone in front of him as she learned how to handle herself. 

Turning fourteen and learning how to drive a standard in an old corn field so if anything ever happened she would always know how to drive whatever vehicle she happened to be in. 

Turning eighteen and leaving all of this behind for a college in Georgia and a scarf around her neck. 

Driving down the same road she used to drive as a teenager towards a bar she hadn’t set foot in since she was far too young to be in it in the first place, with her girlfriend sitting shotgun in the old truck she was currently driving, made her feel like she was somehow a teenager again instead of in her mid twenties and nearly a law school graduate. 

She slowed and flipped her blinker on before pulling into Shorty’s Bar. It was a few miles from the house she spent her high school years in and a million miles from where her head was now. 

“This place looks like a strong gust of wind might knock it over." Stacie said as Aubrey parked the truck. 

“I don’t think anything could knock this place off it’s foundation. Tough wood nailed together by stubborn men.” Aubrey unbuckled before slipping out of the cab of the truck.

Spending her spring break with Aubrey in Virginia sounded so much better than going back home or hanging around campus to Stacie, when asked she jumped at the chance. And after just a few hours in the state, a quick stop to drop their bags and the rental car off at Aubrey’s grandparents house, Stacie had to admit she didn’t know what to think about the state’s effect on Aubrey. 

Looking over at her in tight jeans - a big pro in Stacie’s book - with a tank top and partly buttoned flannel - another big pro as far as Stacie was concerned - with her hair in a ponytail, crossing the state line into Virginia seemed to remind Aubrey of memories she hadn’t been read in on yet - the first big con - with her emotions more guarded than Stacie was happy with. 

“A friend of mine, his father ran this place when we were in high school, my mother told me he started running it after his father died." Aubrey went to the front door and pulled it open. The sign on the door said closed, but she paid no attention to it. 

Stacie stepped inside of the old bar after Aubrey. It looked on the inside about as put together as on the outside with mismatched chairs and dim lights. The pool table was nice though and there were a few lanes to play darts. The wooden bar though is what caught Stacie’s eye, the shelves behind it stocked with more than just Jack Daniels and Wild Turkey. 

“Hello, Remy." Audrey looked at the man behind the bar, her expression was unreadable. 

The man, about the same age as Aubrey with a baseball cap on a head of short but wavy brown hair, looked up at her. 

“Aubrey Chase Poson, as I live and breathe, as I pine and wonder what I’ve done to drive you away." A thicker accent than Stacie expected to hear left the man’s lips as he came around the bar. Dressed in jeans over cowboy boots with a faded blue button up rolled at the sleeves. 

The man wrapped Aubrey up in his arms, spinning her around as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Stacie’s eyebrow raised as she watched her girlfriend be dropped down and a kiss be pressed to her cheek before she was put back on her feet. 

“Always the dramatics with you, Remington." Aubrey said once she was on her feet again, a laugh in her voice. 

“Would you love me if I wasn’t, Aubrey Chase?” Remy asked. 

“No, not a chance.” Aubrey stepped back, hand reaching out in a fluid motion to interlace her fingers with Stacie. 

“Remington Prescott Ashcroft the Third, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Stacie Conrad. Stace, this is Remy. He’s a Chloe level friend but less perky and more male." Aubrey said as she turned her attention back to her girlfriend. 

“I’d like to say that Aubrey has told me good things about you, but she hasn’t mentioned you." Stacie said, never one for platitudes when she was caught off guard. 

“Aubrey Chase has a habit of keeping things close to the vest when she is unsure." Remy smiled as his hat came off and he gave her a bit of a bow. “It is very nice to meet you. She has mentioned you a time or two during our phone conversations. Though she left out how stunning you are and how smitten she is by the sight of her looking at you just now.” 

“I told you I love her, Remy." Aubrey said as her eyes narrowed at him. 

“Love, my dear Aubrey Chase, is all about depth and passion and desire. Being smitten is about being giddy just to see their face because it is such a lovely face. Holding their hand for the millionth time and it feeling like the very first. The feeling of anticipation when they lean in for a sweet kiss.” Remy had a smile on his lips as he looked at Aubrey. 

“You love her." Stacie said, her eyes moving between Aubrey and Remy. She could see it written all over the man’s face. 

“With all my heart. Sadly the good Lord made us both very gay." Remy laughed as he headed back behind the bar. 

“We figured that out together about half way through the only time we had sex." Aubrey tugged Stacie over to the bar with her. 

“Seriously?” Stacie snorted. 

“Senior prom evening. I had a hotel room, a bottle of bourbon and a very naked Aubrey Chase lay on top of my bed. And I needed the bourbon to be able to complete the mission so to speak. But we had been dating since the tenth grade and, well, it was what one did at senior prom." Remy cleaned three glasses before pouring two shots and pausing at the third. “Are you old enough for this?”

“Twenty-one last December." Stacie nodded. “And I’ve known Aubrey a while now. I can handle whatever you’re going to say.” When a shot was put in front of her she took it without hesitation. 

“It was, well the worst sex of my life, but when it was over we both admitted how we felt. Didn’t break up until after graduation though.” Aubrey shifted a bit in her seat before she downed the shot that was put in front of her. 

“You have always known how to stroke a man’s ego, just right, Aubrey Chase." Remy lifted his shot glass towards her before downing his own shot. 

“Always the best for you." Aubrey set her shot glass in front of her for a refill. 

“How did the two of you start dating? I mean breaking through Aubrey’s defenses took me years and I’m awesome." Stacie asked, her hand sliding to rest on Aubrey’s thigh after taking her second shot. 

Remy refilled all three glasses. “My family moved here right before my freshman year of high school. My daddy wasn’t a good man, hit me about as much as the bottle. Aubrey Chase would patch me up when I climbed through her window after she caught me using some make up from my sister’s bag to cover a black eye. She told me I would be letting her help, no questions about it. I kissed her one night and the rest follows more or less with every closeted high school movie you’ve seen. Sweethearts who did very little alone together that was more than PG. But we loved each other with all our hearts, I’d wager.” 

“We did, still do." Aubrey took her second shot, her hand resting on top of Stacie’s. “Remy is who I call when I can’t talk to you or Chloe about something or don’t want to talk to Chloe because she failed Russian Lit three times and I can’t yell at her because she has more issues than a newsstand from her family.”

“Having someone who isn’t a Bella on your speed-dial isn’t a bad idea.” Stacie turned her hand over so she and Aubrey could link hands. She knew just how deeply Chloe staying at Barden, even if Beca tried to help her with Russian Lit to get her to pass after the second time she failed it, cut deep into Aubrey. 

“She on track to pass now that her lady love is finishing up too?” Remy asked with some caution in his voice. 

“Yes, finally. Just in time for us all to move to LA together.” As upset at Aubrey had been at Chloe over the years she was her best friend. 

“What in the world is a Southern woman like you going to be doing in Los Angeles?” Remy chuckled. 

“Law firm grunt, entertainment law. Stace has grad school, Chloe trying to find work in the dance field and Beca has a job at a record company. We’re all moving in together because this is just my life now." Aubrey said before she took another shot, pouring this one herself. 

“It will be good." Stacie rubbed her thumb over the back of Aubrey’s hand. “You and Beca are friends now, Chloe and I get to do two in the morning dance parties together and I get a super hot lawyer girlfriend to show off to the nerds in my program." Stacie winked at Aubrey, proud of the chuckle she got out of her in return. 

“What field are you going into?” Remy asked. 

“Biomedical engineering, Caltech is a great program and I get to live with two of my best friends and my girlfriend. Win, win, win.” Stacie took one more shot before handing her shot glass back. She wasn’t a lightweight but they were meeting and having dinner with Aubrey’s family tonight. She needed to behave. 

“Smart and beautiful. Well Aubrey Chase, you have hit your jackpot." Remy said with a chuckle. 

“You have no idea how lucky I got when I got Stacie to agree to date me." Aubrey said.

“You got her to date you? You were the hunter in all this, were you?” Remy teased. 

The two women shared a look and then a laugh at the term that Remy used. “I asked her out after she kissed me.”

“I kissed you because I came into the living room of the apartment you had that I was staying in, in a towel and asked, “do you have romantic feelings for me” and I was left non verbal at you being so blunt so I had to kiss you to confirm." Stacie replied. 

“You came out in a towel and asked this beautiful young lady such a pointed question?” Remy grinned at her. “My, Aubrey Chase, you have grown bold in your old age.”

“You’re like four days younger than I am." Aubrey said with a roll of her eyes. 

“In those four days you aged about ten years." Remy teased her. 

As if to make a point of her own, Aubrey stuck her tongue out at him. She hadn’t felt this light in months, maybe years. She had Stacie finally meeting her Non-Bella best friend. And they were hitting it off better than she could have hoped. 

“You have such a cute tongue." Stacie grinned as she watched her girlfriend. 

“Talented too." It was Aubrey’s turn to wink and Stacie reached over to tug her into a heated kiss. 

“Very." Stacie answered when she pulled back. 

Aubrey checked her watch and breathed out slowly as she saw what time it was. “We really should head back, shower and get ready for dinner. My grandparents always put dinner on the table at the stroke of six.”

Stacie paused a moment before pouring herself one more shot and taking it quickly. “Alright, let’s go.” She reached out to take Aubrey’s head once they were both standing. 

“Tell the General, the Colonel, your grandmother and your momma I said hello." Remy told her, coming around the bar again to give both women tight hugs. 

“Tomorrow night, dinner?” Aubrey asked. 

“I think that can be arranged. I’m at the old homestead, swing around about seven. I’ll make some ribs and all the fixin’s for ya.” Remy beamed at the idea of having another chance to see Aubrey and Stacie too. 

“He is the best pitmaster I know." Aubrey said to Stacie. “It will be one of the best things you’ll ever eat.”

“Other than you?” Stacie asked, slipping back to her old self now that she understood a little more about Remy and Aubrey. 

“I expect to see this one for years to come, Aubrey Chase.” Remy answered before Aubrey had a chance to.

“You will. For as long as she’ll have me." Aubrey answered with a smile. 

—————

The Posen family was old Virginia stock. But the Chase family, Aubrey’s mother’s side of the family, did them one better in being old Virginia money. Colonel William Chase of the United States Marine Corps bought a horse farm after he retired from the Marines and bred and raised some of the very finest horses in the country. On the farm was a large home, six bedrooms, seven bathrooms and all the amenities that one would expect from such a place. 

And it might just be Aubrey’s favorite place in the world. Even if one of her very favorite people, her brother Jamie, wasn’t here this visit. 

“They are going to have you in the guest room across from where my bedroom is." Aubrey told Stacie as they entered the house from the backdoor and headed upstairs. 

“I had a feeling I was going to be getting the guest room.” Stacie wasn’t thrilled about it but she also didn’t want to put Aubrey in any sort of conflict with her family. 

“I’m twenty-five.” Aubrey sighed. “I should be able to sleep in the same bed as my girlfriend. It’s not like you and I would be having sex tonight anyway.” Her voice dropped to a near whisper as she said sex. 

“Aubrey.” Stacie put her hand on her girlfriend’s arm once they managed to make it to her bedroom where both of their bags were. “Your family is old school. Mine isn’t. My mom asked my high school boyfriend if he needed condoms when I brought him home at 17, then gave him one and then he and I used it. And the next morning we all had breakfast together and it was kinda normal for all involved. We come from different families. I am happy to play by their rules while we’re here.”

Aubrey turned and shut the door before she wrapped her arms around Stacie’s waist and tugged their bodies together. Stacie wrapped her arms around Aubrey’s shoulders to bring them as close as possible. They had what Stacie often referred to as optimal height difference. She was just tall enough for Aubrey to comfortable tuck her head against Stacie’s chest without either of them being uncomfortable. 

“Tell me what you need." Stacie whispered, her hand moving to the back of Aubrey’s neck to play with the short baby hairs there. 

“Three minutes." Aubrey whispered, hitting a timer that was always set on her watch to insure she got the full three minutes with Stacie. 

It was a thing they did, starting not long after they started dating. If either one was overtired or overstressed or over life in general they would call each other, with a text message usually as a warning beforehand, and give the other three minutes of quiet, the sound of the other breathing enough to calm them for the moment. If they were together they had the benefit of holding on to each other while they did it. Sometimes they would talk after and sometimes those three minutes were enough. 

Stacie kissed the side of her head and closed her eyes, breathing in and out slowly to give both of them a few minutes of peace. Both of them overthought in different ways, Stacie using her STEM background to look for patterns and logic that wasn’t always there and Aubrey wanting to control all the details so what she wanted to happen would even if there was no way she could control enough to make that happen. 

When Aubrey’s wrist vibrated to tell her the three minutes was up she hit her watch to stop it but didn’t pull back. 

“I am in love with you. The nerdy parts and the funny parts and the sexy parts. The parts of you that you hide from most people because they are tender and others might poke at them.” It was a credit to their relationship, Aubrey knew, that Stacie didn’t make a joke about parts that could be poked in this moment. “I am so in love with you. I just want tonight to be over. Not because I don’t think you can handle them but because I know how they are. It’s going to be an interrogation. Two military officers and the women who have been married to them for most of their lives. Four people who know my weak spots and who poke at them sometimes.”

“I’m sorry that I’m going to be very nerdy for a minute.” Stacie pressed another kiss against Aubrey’s temple. “I’m a chemist and I know what my brain is doing and why it leads me to feel what I do. It’s the chemicals. It’s my brain swimming in them. It's a hit of dopamine every time I see you. That’s the feel good chemical after all and I feel good when I’m with you. The little hits of oxytocin when we hold hands and bigger hits of it when we have sex, which leads to trust building between us. And vasopressin, which helps to bond us as a pair. I know what my brain is doing, and Aubrey no one else triggers the production of those chemicals like you do. Your family doesn’t scare me because what I feel for you affects me on the chemical level. They can’t put a stop to that. No one can.”

Aubrey loved this side of Stacie. The side that would list off chemical cocktails they produced with each other with such naked earnestness that she couldn’t help but swoon. She leaned up, pressing a soft kiss against Stacie’s lips. 

“Anastasia Linnea Conrad, you are magnificent." Aubrey lifted her head up to look into Stacie’s eyes. 

“Are you ever going to tell me how you found out my full name?” She ducked her head as her full name was used, a Greek first name for her mother’s side and Swedish middle name for her father’s. It was extremely rare she heard both her full first and middle name from anyone.

“I looked at your student file. I had access as Bella’s captain.” Aubrey finally admitted. 

“Seriously?” Stacie raised an eyebrow. “They let you do that? Wait, why were you in my file?”

“I wanted to see what major you were in. When you said nail care and the E network were your hobbies, I had a feeling you were being cute. I wanted to see if I was right.”

“One I said cuticle care and two, I was only a chemistry major then. Impressive enough without adding the double major with physics, make sure all my bases were covered?” Stacie raised an eyebrow. 

“You were always impressive." Aubrey looked into her eyes. “Even before I knew anything about you. Just the look in your eyes told me everything I wanted to know in that moment.”

“They didn’t tell you my bra size." Stacie challenged. 

“Didn’t need to know that at the time. Just needed to look at them while you were up there." Aubrey laughed. “I really lucked out Chloe was able to pay attention to your voice. Because I really, really wasn’t.”

Stacie bent her head to nuzzle Aubrey’s neck, pressing a kiss to her pulse point. “We need to shower and get ready. It’s almost five and it’s going to take me at least a half hour to get my hair dry.”

“I would suggest we shower together but I would be tempted to stay in the shower with you and never get out." Aubrey whined a little bit. 

“You’re a big girl. Go get ready and pick me up at my room when you are.” Stacie couldn’t help bending down and giving her one more kiss before leaving with her bag to go get ready. 

—————

Aubrey looked over herself one last time in the mirror. She curled her hair in big soft curls that she knew Stacie liked. Her dress was a light green, knee length with elbow length sleeves. She checked her make up one more time before leaving her knee and crossing the hall. 

She knocked on the closed door and waited. She loved Stacie’s style but hoped her girlfriend packed something that wouldn’t make her a slack jawed idiot. When Stacie opened the door her eyes widened.

“You look amazing." Aubrey breathed out. 

“You think?” Stacie looked down at the black dress she had on, it fell mid calf with sleeves that went to her wrists. It was more covered up and more flowing than Stacie usually went for. “Chloe said it should work when I showed her.” 

“You look amazing." Aubrey repeated herself. “I love when you blow dry your hair but let it stay wavy.” She reached out to toy with a lock of Stacie’s hair before she reached for her hand. 

Stacie walked with Aubrey, hand in hand, towards the stairs. “You look pretty amazing yourself." She said as they let go of each other’s hand to go down the stairs towards the study. 

Audrey’s smile grew as she turned once she reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to face Stacie, retaking her hand once she reached the bottom of the stairs. “Did you have to wear those heels though? You’ve got to be six foot in them.”

“Six foot one." Stacie corrected. “Fix foot eight plus five inch heels. I knew you would be wearing heels and I didn’t want to give up my height advantage. You have to be nearly five foot nine right now, Posen.”

Aubrey stopped them before they got to the study. She could hear her grandfather and her father speaking already. 

“I love you." Aubrey whispered, taking a few more seconds before facing her family. “And I love your wit and your playful side. Just remember the audience.” She pleaded. 

“I can behave myself, Bree." Stacie wasn’t offended. She couldn’t be when Aubrey was reading herself for a battle she hated Aubrey felt she was going to have to fight. She saw glimmers of Captain Posen from her freshman year in the way Audrey now stood. “If you say Jess instead of Jessica’s full name, I’ll fake a headache or something and you can help me upstairs, ok? A bit of a safeword tonight.”

“Thank you." Aubrey whispered, feeling a bit better with a plan in place. 

“And I love you too. Now let’s go.” Stacie held tight to Aubrey’s hand as they headed into the study. 

As they two women stepped inside the study suddenly four pairs of eyes were on them. The two officers were dressed in what Aubrey would always think of as dinner dress even if her father was out of uniform for the night. Her grandmother and her mother were dressed in long dresses, they both had skipped the dinner gloves. 

“I’d like to introduce y’all to my girlfriend." Aubrey said to the room, her accent coming back just a little bit now. “Stacie this is my grandfather, Colonel William Chase, my grandmother Mrs. Barbara Chase. My father General James Posen and my mother Mrs. Elenor Posen. Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Stacie Conrad.” 

Stacie had ever stood in front of a firing squad before but right now she felt like she was facing one. “It’s really nice to meet all of you, Aubrey has told me a lot about you." she said, trying not to look too nervous. 

“Our Aubrey tells us that you’re still at Barden, is that correct?” Colonel Chase leaned back in his chair, looking both his granddaughter and her girlfriend up and down. 

“For a few more months, yes. Then we’ll be going to LA and I’ll be starting at Caltech. I should have a Ph.D by 2020 or so." Stacie answered, really hoping slipping that in there would impress them. 

Aubrey guided Stacie to the couch opposite of her parents, her grandparents in chairs facing them. As soon as they sat down she regretted moving from the doorway. It really felt like the room had been set up for them to feel like they were on trial. 

“What do you plan to get your doctorate in?” This time it was Aubrey’s father who spoke up. 

“Biomedical engineering. My end goal is to use what I learn to try and make things better for people.” Stacie was proud of her goals and was working very hard to try and get there. She kept to herself, though Aubrey knew of course, she wanted to work in reproductive medicine to try and help LGBT couples with options in the future. 

“What are the employment prospects for something like that?” Barbara asked, a martini in her hand. 

“Research is pretty big right now in the field. It shouldn’t be a problem. Coming out of Caltech will help, it’s a very well ranked school.” Stacie felt Aubrey’s hand grip her a little tighter but her thumb swiped over the back of her hand to let Aubrey know she was alright.

“And that sort of career would be able to support yourself and a partner?” General Posen asked, his question was fairly plain to understand. 

“Where we’re going to be living? Probably not. But Aubrey will be working as a lawyer in a state where they will always need them.” Stacie looked over at Aubrey a moment with a real smile on her lips. “She’s brilliant so I’m not worried about her ability to rise up the chain of whatever firm she wants.”

“Thank you." Aubrey squeezed Stacie’s hand, feeling her chest warm at the kind words. 

“California is not an inexpensive state. Even if you are an attorney and a biomedical engineer." Elenor spoke up. 

“Aubrey and I are going to work together to build a life. I’m from a pretty upper middle class family back in Boston so I know the value of money and the field I am going into will allow me to make it. I will make sure Aubrey isn’t the only one working hard toward our future.” Stacie said firmly. 

“Now that we’ve established your ability to care for my daughter, should this relationship mature," General Posen said, he had the lightest accent of the four older members of the room, “We do have some other questions if we might speed this along to make sure you’re an acceptable dinner guest.”

“Dad, I don’t think this is necessary.” Aubrey still had a hard time standing up to her family even in moments like this where she knew they were in the wrong. Stacie didn’t deserve this interrogation even if they both knew it was coming.

“No." Stacie spoke up. “Let them. If we can get the inquisition out of the way before dinner, it will lead to better digestion all around.” She was a bit proud to note both the Colonel and the General chuckled at that one. 

The questions came quickly after Stacie consented to them. 

“Do you love, Aubrey?”

Stacie was glad it was an easy first question. “With every chemical in my body.”

“What are your intentions with Aubrey?”

“To marry her in a few years and spend the rest of my life trying to make her as happy as she makes me every time she takes my hand and giving me her little smile that says she loves me." Stacie and Aubrey hadn’t talked much about marriage but the grip Aubrey took on Stacie’s hand made her think she gave a good answer.

“Have you ever cheated on a partner?”

“Never." She answered. Promiscuity wasn’t a sin nor was the same as being unfaithful. 

“You said your family had money and your father was an inventor, what about the rest of your family?”

“My father works in tech and yes, he invents things. My mom owns a restaurant and does a lot of charity work. S & A, just got their first Michelin star so she is thrilled about that. My sister Sam is a photographer. Digital mostly. All four of my grandparents are in Europe. My mom’s side in Greece and Italian and my dad’s in Sweden and English. His parents were born here but retired to Sweden. Hers came over and left when she was in college." Stacie loved the yearly or every other year trips to Greece and then Sweden to see them.

“Will you and Aubrey be sharing a room in California?”

Stacie felt Aubrey’s grip tighten as a warning but she had no choice but to answer honestly. “We will be, yes.”

“Is that something you both are familiar with?”

“It is.” Stacie held tight to Aubrey’s hand, she knew Aubrey was dying wordlessly next to her.

“Do you drink? Drugs?”

“I drink some, not as much as a typical college student might. I am a double major in chem and physics. I spend a lot of time in the library when I’m not with the Bellas. But I’ve smoked pot before. Not often and not in the last year or so.” Stacie figured if she lied it would be worse than anything she held back. 

“If Aubrey finds someone else, how would you handle that?”

“It’s my job to make sure we never get to a point where Aubrey is looking for someone else. But if something happens, if someone else catches her eye then we talk about it. We figure out what we need to figure out and we go from there. I don’t see a permutation of my future that doesn’t have Aubrey Posen holding my hand and resting her head on my shoulder when we watch a movie. So we talk. We figure it out. Together.” Stacie didn’t let the knot at the idea anyone else could sway Aubrey from her show in her voice. She hoped. 

The four adults looked at each other after a few moments of no one asking anything else. Somehow Stacie thought that was much worse than the questions. 

“I’ve spoken with combatants that wouldn’t have been able to sit where you are now and handled this level of interrogation." General Posen said, looking at Stacie and then Aubrey. “She passes, Aubrey.”

Stacie let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. “Seriously?”

“Dinner will be a much lighter affair.” The Colonel nodded as he stood and held his arm out to her. “Dinner should be served in just a minute or two. Might I walk you in, young lady?”

“It would be my pleasure, Colonel." Stacie gave him one of her most dazzling smiles.

The General stood at his daughter’s side as the rest of the family moved to the dining room. “She makes you happy, doesn’t she?” He asked.

“So happy." Aubrey whispered, taking his arm when he offered it. 

—————

Stacie was reading in bed when she looked up to see her bedroom door open and then shut, Aubrey inside the room now. 

“I’m sorry for the third degree you had to sit through tonight before dinner." Aubrey whispered, crawling into bed with Stacie. Her head found Stacie’s shoulder, her arm wrapped around her middle and her body modeled against Stacie’s side. 

“They needed to do it so they could feel like they were part of your decision making. You needed to hear some of those answers too I think. And I had to prove I was tough enough to take it.” Stacie put her book down after making the page. Her arm wrapped around Aubrey’s shoulders, holding her close. 

“You held your own. And don’t think we’re not going to talk about the idea of marriage." Aubrey said, toying with one of the buttons on Stacie’s sleep top, “or the fact you told my family we sleep together.”

“If I lied to them, it would have been so much worse because they would have been able to tell." Stacie pointed out as she started to rub slow patterns over Aubrey’s back. “As for marriage, well ask away. I can just kiss you when I am done answering questions.”

“Is that so?” Aubrey asked, tilting her head up to be able to give Stacie a quick kiss. 

“It is.” Stacie smiled as they settled back against each other. 

“Marriage?” Aubrey asked.

“One day I really want to ask you to marry me, have you say yes and then do it." Stacie admitted.

“You want to be the one to ask?” Aubrey said surprised. 

“You are a romantic. You like romance. I feel like it would be unfair for you not to have a romantic proposal when I would be down for a ring pop post orgasm." Stacie explained. 

Aubrey rolled her eyes but sat up and kissed her, letting her tongue trace alone Stacie’s bottom up. She felt Stacie tugging her closer so she just straddled the younger woman’s lap. 

“Baby." Stacie whimpered. “No sex, come on. Not on my first visit here when I know they know you’re in here.”

Aubrey rested her forehead against Stacie’s. “Stacie Conrad is saying no to sex. The other Bella’s will never let you live this down.”

“Oh no. You do not get to tell them this one." Stacie groaned. 

“You told them you got me to go to a club and have sex with you in the bathroom, how was that fair?” Aubrey snorted. 

“Because I didn’t tell the Bellas. I told my best friend, Beca, who happens to be the captain of the Bella’s." Stacie said weakly. 

“Then I will tell my best friend, Chloe, who also happens to unexplainably still be the captain of the Bellas." Aubrey challenged.

“Damn it." Stacie knew when she was out gunned. “Still no sex though.” She nudged Aubrey off of her. “Lay on your side so I can be your big spoon.”

Aubrey did as Stacie asked after setting her phone alarm for four A.M. so she could go back to her room. 

“Four A.M.?” Stacie groaned. “I hate you.”

“You really don’t." Aubrey countered.

“I really don’t." Stacie confirmed. 

—————

The Homestead that Remy talked about was nothing like Stacie expected. It was a large house with a wrap around porch and a big barn out back. It looked like Home and Garden had been there and did a shoot the day before or something. 

“Old family money?” Stacie questioned as she turned her head to Aubrey. 

“No. He went to New York for a few years. Investment banking. This place was a dump when we were growing up. His next project is getting Shorty’s cleaned up enough without changing the tone." Aubrey answered as she parked the truck.

“Remy in New York?” Stacie looked a bit shocked.

“And me in LA. Hell may be freezing over, babe.” Aubrey leaned over to grab the gift they were giving Remy for his birthday. It was a drawing of the UVA crest, his alma mater, that he could hang in his office. 

Remy was on the porch when the two women got out of the truck, a ‘Kiss The Cook’ apron on over his usual jeans and a button up. Though this shirt looked new and his boots looked almost polished. Instead of a baseball cap tonight he had on a Stetson. 

“Were you on extra on westerns in college, is that why you look like you could step into the 1890’s and fit right in?” Stacie grinned at him, stepping on the porch to give him a quick hug when he opened his arms to her.

“My family originated in New Orleans. I am a transfer to the north of the south." Remy answered, glad that he and Stacie were getting along. She seemed just the kind of woman his Aubrey needed.

Aubrey waited her turn to hug Remy, holding on tight when she did. She honestly didn’t hug many people and Remy was, outside of her father and grandfather, just about the old man she would want to hug on any given day. She didn’t let go for a few long moments before she finally stepped back.

“That bad?” Remy asked when he looked into her eyes. 

“No, but still a little off." Aubrey said with a soft voice.

Stacie’s hand slipped into Aubrey’s. After the shower sex they had before coming here - she wasn’t a monster and Aubrey gave her that slightly deep husky voice she could pull off and those fuck me eyes, her willpower broke - Aubrey still seemed to be a bit shaky around the edges. 

“Come on you two. I have the ribs we talked about with collard greens, baked beans with a bit of pork ends tossed in and some cornbread too." Remy opened the door to the house so they could all go inside. 

“You are the perfect man,’ Aubrey said as they headed inside. 

“Yes Aubrey Chase, I cook for you, I love you and we never have to have sex again." Remy laughed as he shut the door behind him. 

“Sex is what I’m for.” Stacie grinned as they entered a kitchen that had double ovens and a 6 burner range, built in cabinets and a walk in pantry. “Jesus, if Aubrey won’t marry me I’m totally asking you. Just for your kitchen.”

“If you ever ask Aubrey Chase to marry you and she says no, I will marry you darling and make sure that you have a very happy life." Remy winked at her before he turned the radio on, leaving it low as he checked on everything. 

“Score." Stacie said happily. 

“Already looking for backup plans after meeting my family once?” Aubrey tried to joke but her voice was too soft and her eyes too cloudy. 

“No.” Stacie’s voice was soft but clear. “I am going to marry you, Aubrey. I am going to give you a big southern wedding and we’re going to put on formalwear. Chloe and Beca, Remy, and the Bellas will be there. And we’ll dance all night and drink too much and fall into bed together half dressed and sleep until noon before going on one hell of a honeymoon.”

Aubrey’s eyes drew a bit damp at the picture that Stacie could so easily paint of their wedding. “Thank you." She whispered. 

After Aubrey took a seat at the island, her eyes watching Remy, who was pretending like he had gone deaf, Stacie wrapped her arms around her from behind. Tall enough to rest her chin on Aubrey’s shoulder and get to watch Remy work. “I mean it Bree, this is it for me. The Hunter has been tamed." She whispered into her girlfriend’s ear. 

“Dinner is served ladies, plates are there, help yourself." Remy put everything on his side of the island so they could dish what they wanted and go to the table to eat. He already put three beers on the table to help wash down the food. 

Stacie lived in Georgia long enough to try some barbecue but as soon as she sat down and took her first bite of the collard greens she knew she would never be the same. 

“Remy, this is amazing." Stacie said before trying the baked beans and groaning at how good they were. 

“Just wait until you try the ribs." Aubrey looked adoringly over at her girlfriend. She still had a worry line on her forehead but she managed to relax a bit. 

Remy looked at them for a moment. “Do you want some insider information on your lady love?” He asked, trying to ease his best friend’s heart and head a moment and give Stacie some tips that she could use to help in the future. 

“Advanced level classes on Aubrey Posen are always welcome." Stacie managed to swallow what was in her mouth before answering. 

“She goes for white wine more often than red, but she likes the complexity of the red more. But it gets her drunker and you and I both know Aubrey doesn’t give control up easily." Remy chuckled as he watched Aubrey roll her eyes. 

“That I knew. I always keep a bottle of red in the kitchen at Bella House for when Aubrey comes over. No one but Chloe or I would drink it so it’s safe." Stacie wanted to slip her hand to Aubrey’s thigh but both were currently holding a rib she never wanted to put down. 

“If she’s drinking whiskey she is thinking about something or trying to forget, if she is shooting it alone, then start praying for whoever has pissed her off. For their soul has already been condemned to Hell.” Remy bit into his cornbread. 

“He’s not wrong." Aubrey confirmed. 

“Is that why you stay clear of whiskey at parties? It’s not something to fuck with around other people?” Stacie wondered.

“Whiskey is not for large groups." Aubrey confirmed. “I might have some tonight and I’ve had some when it’s just the Bellas and Chloe thought to buy some of the good stuff for me. But it makes me lose my inhibitions. I usually stick with vodka or gin if I’m doing mixed drinks in public.”

“Noted." Stacie licked her fingers off, unable not to smirk in Aubrey’s direction while she did. 

“Never, and I do mean never, challenge her to go round for round with you. You will not win and she will be smug for weeks." Remy grinned at the memories from their youth. 

“I have a high tolerance." Aubrey shrugged. 

“You have made a deal with Satan himself for it, I am sure." Remy rolled his eyes at her this time. “This one is the important one. And serious.”

“Alright." Stacie looked at him. 

“Don’t let her run away.” This was the advice he really needed to give her.” “Give her space if she needs. Give her time if she needs. But don’t let her run from you. Because by the time you catch up to her again, things will never be the same.” Remy spoke from experience, that much was clear. 

Aubrey breathed out slowly as she took the impact of his words to heart. “I had to leave Virginia Remy, not all of us could go to UVA on a full ride. I should have talked to you more the first two years I was gone. But Chloe didn’t know my past then, she just knew who I was in Georgia.”

“What happened between you and me is not my point, Aubrey Chase. I don’t want to see you hurt yourself because you think running away is the fix for a battered heart.” Remy looked at Aubrey before looking back to Stacie. “Don’t let her run on you, you hear?”

“I have longer legs. She can’t get too far ahead of me without me catching up." The advice, knowing Aubrey left her best friend even if she needed to get away, did trouble Stacie. But Aubrey was older now and they had a million connections points to anchor themselves to each other. “And I hope I never let her heart get too battered.”

“I’ve grown up, Remy.” Aubrey looked up at her friend. “I know if I fuck my relationship with Stacie up I’m never going to be able to live with myself." She reached over the table and put her hand on his. 

Remy held his beer bottle up, an easy grin on his face. “Well then, here is to you Aubrey Chase, adulthood looks damn fine on you.”

Stacie and Aubrey lifted their beer bottles as Remy had done, their hands joining even though both had some sauce from the ribs still painted on their skin. But right now? All that mattered to Aubrey was she brought Stacie home and they would live to tell the tale of it. Because Stacie more than the state they were in or her grandparents home or even Remy, just Stacie? That was home now. 

  
  
  



End file.
